Tag Archives: UDI

This example shows a compromise alternative to print both the NDC and the GS1 GTIN in the DSCSA Product Code human readable, following the GS1 General Specifications healthcare human readable guidelines in section 4.14.1

If you have anything to do with Unique Device Identification (UDI) in your company and you’ve never been to one of the UDI Conferences put on by the Clarion Group, then you don’t know what you are missing. Those who have been to one know that these are the best possible events to attend for UDI.

Once again I’ve asked Karen Fleshman, co-founder and COO of Haskins Advisory Group, to step in and cover the recent EU MDR and IVDR Conference that focused on Unique Device Identification (UDI). I’ll return after the holidays with more coverage of pharma serialization. Thanks Karen! –Dirk.

One of my favorite conferences each year is the annual Unique Device Identification (UDI) Conference put on by the Clarion Group on behalf of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). I am happy to sponsor the event each year, and I try to attend when I can.

Heart Failure is a human condition that is characterized by several easily identifiable symptoms, including fatigue, difficulty breathing and in its later stages, gurgled breathing. My mother and my mother-in-law both suffered from heart failure during their decline. Analogous to heart failure in humans is a condition of an identifier system that is near the end of its useful life that we can call “identifier failure”. At the end of November, a new FDA final guidance called “Requirements for Foreign and Domestic Establishment Registration and Listing for Human Drugs, Including Drugs That Are Regulated Under a Biologics License Application, and Animal Drugs” went into effect. Buried deep within this 200+ page document is the official announcement that signaled the National Drug Code (NDC) identifier system is now afflicted with this end-stage condition. The NDC won’t last long now, and there is no longer any excuse for inaction. The need for a replacement is now urgent. Continue reading NDC Nearing Its End, Afflicted by ‘Identifier Failure’→

There is a long-running tug-of-war going on between GS1 and national governments around the world over how exactly to identify medical products, whether devices or pharmaceuticals. National governments regulate those products to maximize the health of their citizens and so they take a natural interest in how they are identified. They want to eliminate all ambiguity between products within their market. They need to be able to tightly grant market authorization, revoke it and oversee recalls when warranted. To do that effectively, they need a way of clearly and concisely referencing a given product. That same way of referencing the product should also be used for patient education and for healthcare professional prescribing. Bad things happen when mistakes are made in the identification of healthcare products.

Thanks for inviting me to your DSCSA Pilot Party this week. I look forward to visiting you at your Silver Spring home so we can catch up on what’s been happing in our lives recently. I’m glad you are thinking more about the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) lately. I am too.

In fact, I’ve been thinking about how nice it would be if you would fix the broken National Drug Code (NDC) as part of the implementation of the DSCSA. It’s really not very hard to do. You already laid out and tested the path that needs to be followed when you implemented the Unique Device Identification (UDI) numbering system for medical devices a few years ago.

DISCLAIMER: RxTrace contains some of the personal thoughts, ideas and opinions of Dirk Rodgers. The material contained in RxTrace is not legal advice. Dirk Rodgers is not a lawyer.The reader must make their own decisions about the accuracy of the opinions expressed in RxTrace. Readers are encouraged to consult their own legal counseland trading partners before taking any actions based on information found in RxTrace. RxTrace is not a vehicle for communicatingthe positions of any company, organization or individual other than Dirk Rodgers.